1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for securing objects, such as a child""s safety seat, on a motor vehicle seat and, more particularly, is concerned with such device having securements formed by articulated elements which facilitate extending and retracting the securements from and into a gap between a seating surface and backrest of the motor vehicle seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In German patent document No. DE 196 50 087 C1, a device is disclosed for securing objects, in particular a child""s safety seat. This device comprises two U-shaped securements spaced apart from one another, which in their position of use project between the seat cushion and backrest of a motor vehicle seat in the direction of travel. By means of securement parts, the securements are simultaneously attached on a swivel axle and on a reinforcement tube. In the position of use of the device, the ends of the reinforcement tube rest in rigid stops, which are a component part of a bearing bracket of the motor vehicle seat. Thus, in event of a crash, the requisite strength is provided for the tensile forces on the securements. If, however, the use of the securements is not required, the securements can then be brought into a rest position on the backside of the motor vehicle seat by swivelling the device rearward to the backside.
In German patent document No. 197 38 802 C1, another device is disclosed for securing a child""s safety seat. This device comprises securements disposed on a cross bar positioned on the backside of the motor vehicle seat. The securements are swivellable about a vertical axis and can, if needed, be moved between the seating surface and backrest of the motor vehicle seat. The swivel motion of the securements is accomplished by a prestressed spring. The securements are held in a resting position by means of a blockage.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,934, still another device is disclosed for securing a child""s safety seat. This device comprises a cross rod disposed on the backside of the motor vehicle seat and bent at right angles so as to form U-shaped securements that project into the gap between the seating surface and backrest of the seat. The cross rod is rotatably supported at its opposite ends in lateral portions of the motor vehicle seat. The securements are for securing the child""s safety seat to the cross rod. In a preferred implementation of this device, the securements are disposed in the direction of the seating surface and swivellable about a horizontal axis. The cross rod being bent at right angles has a disadvantage in that due to its shape it cannot have a high flexural rigidity. This must be compensated for by the rod having a greater diameter.
What the aforementioned devices have in common is that their securements for securing a child""s safety seat are required to be present in the gap between the seating surface and backrest of the motor vehicle seat. If, however, this seating surface is utilized by a person without a child""s safety seat, the securements in the rearward region of the seating surface are considered to be disturbing to the comfort of the seating surface. For that reason, these securements, if necessary, must be removed from this seating region. The constructions of these devices, however, are complicated and thus expensive. In addition, these devices occupy a relatively large space behind or under the motor vehicle seat.
Consequently, a need exists for innovation in a child""s safety seat securement device that will solve the aforementioned problems without introducing new problems in place thereof. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a device for securing a child""s safety seat which solves the aforementioned problems. The device of the present invention includes readily accessible securements for the mounting of a child""s safety seat or the like. The securements also are removable in a simple manner from the seating region so as to avoid impairment of the comfort of the seating surface. In addition, the device is cost-effective and space saving. The securements are not rigid U-shaped members. Instead, they are U-shaped members comprised of sets of individual elements connected with one another via articulations such that the elements are swivellable in planes defined by the securements. This has the advantage that the fixed extensions provided heretofore in the plane of the securements are nullified. In the device of the present invention, if the ends of the U-shaped members are moved away from one another or if the U-shaped members are converted into a parallelogram by swivelling, the extension of each securement is reduced in the direction of the seating surface. Through this effect the securements can completely disappear between the nonusable portion of the seating surface and the lower end of the backrest.
The device of the present invention also includes a rigid support member in the form of an elongated rod or tube to which the ends of the U-shaped members are articulately connected. The rod extends transversely to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle on the lower backside of the backrest and is rigidly integrated into the support structure of the seat. The rod has the advantage that it is cost-effective and highly space-saving and thus does not hinder, for example, the foot room of a back seating row. If, by means of a simple driving means, at least one securement (for example for anchoring a safety seat belt) is actuated, this securement can readily be moved out of the gap between the seating surface and backrest.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a device for detachably securing an object, such as a child""s safety seat, on a motor vehicle seat. The device comprises: (a) a transverse support member mountable adjacent to and along a gap between a seating surface and backrest of a seat of a motor vehicle; and (b) a pair of securements spaced apart and mounted to the support member so as to extend in the gap and being adapted for securing the object on the seating surface. Each of the securements includes a set of elements and means for connecting at least some of the elements of each set with one another and with the support member such that some elements of the securements are swivellable in planes defined by the securements relative to the support member between positions of use in which the securements are extended away from the support member and the gap and positions of rest in which the securements are retracted toward the support member and into the gap. The securements in the positions of use have respective U-shaped configurations formed by the sets of elements such that one of the securement is substantially identical to and arranged as a mirror image of the other of the securements.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.